A fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) employee spoke out about the impact of FIFO on mental health just days before he took his life.

Rhys Connor, 25, died on July 25 last year in his room at the Hope Downs mine site in the Pilbara in Western Australia after suffering depression.

The father-of-one had spoken about the cost of the FIFO lifestyle on his mental health and wellbeing just days earlier, urging those considering FIFO to 'rethink' their decision.

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Rhys Connor gave an interview about the effect of fly-in, fly-out life on mental health just days before he took his life

Mr Connor spoke about his experience in an interview for a government-funded project on miners released by his family on the anniversary of his death to raise awareness about the risks of isolation and depression faced by FIFO workers.

'People do struggle up there with depression and at the moment I'm going through it,' Mr Connor said in the interview.

Rhys Connor was father to Blaize and said the fly-in, fly-out nature of his work made relationships very difficult

Mr Connor had a young son, Blaize, but had separated from the child's mother.

Six weeks before he died he separated from his fiancée.

Mr Connor suggested FIFO made long-term relationships difficult, saying that he would tell his son to work FIFO only 'if he was single'.

He said that some workers 'drink every night' to cope with the lifestyle and named isolation as a key problem for FIFO-workers.

'You're in your room every night of the week. You just think about things. You think about your family and what they’re doing now... You miss your family,' he said.

'There are people out there what seem to be fine, and deep down they're not. People have got to realise that everyone's not OK.'

Mr Connor's parents, Peter and Anita Miller said mining companies need to do more to look after their employees.

'Everything’s not going OK for people onsite, there’s a huge focus on safety, but there needs to be more focus on mental wellbeing,' Ms Miller told Daily Mail Australia.

While she said that she does not blame FIFO for her son's death, she said the lifestyle does present particular mental health challenges.

'It's long sections away from family, missing out on major family events.'

Rhys typically worked three or four weeks onsite followed by one week off.

'That's a long time away when you've got a child,' said Ms Miller. 'You're missing major developments.

'We’ve suffered hugely. Our son was just a great normal everyday guy... and bang he’s dead. It’s just too sad,' she said.

After Rhys Connor (right) took his life, his family, including his stepfather Peter Miller (centre) have campaigned to raise awareness of themental health issues faced by fly-in, fly-out workers

Alan Woodward, Executive Directive of Lifeline Research Foundation, conducted a study of mental health among 900 FIFO workers last year.

He found that while FIFO workers did not experience a higher rate of mental health issues compared to the rest of Western Australian citizens, they did experience specific hardships relating to mental health.

'A key concern for us out of that study was often the attitude among the workforce that it was somehow soft to say that you're having troubles,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'It was summed up in a phrase from one our interviews that "if you were having troubles in your life, you just had to suck it up princess". That was a very unhelpful attitude, that can prevent people from seeking help.'

The Millers are now raising awareness of the mental health problems facing FIFO workers.